In One Moment
by rainshower
Summary: Tell me what you think...
1. ch 1

The figure that once was a sassy girl remained seated on the cement floor. The coldness of the hard ground goes unnoticed.  
  
"Hey. . . come here," Jamie said as he continued to look at Caitie with concern.  
  
She remained motionless, not even attempting to move. Jamie positioned himself closer to put his arm around her fragile figure.  
  
"She's gone."  
  
Jamie didn't know what to say. His heart was wrung in a variety of directions.  
  
"I know. . . I know." Jamie didn't know what else to say. He kicked himself silently for the lack of the right magical words to say.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * One Week Earlier * * * * * * * * * *  
  
"Caitie, get down here!" yelled Mrs. Roth from the bottom of the stairs.  
  
After leaving out an exasperated sigh, Caitie rolled off her bed. She proceeded to walk down the stairs of her house, into the living room. The sight of an unhappy mother greeted her.  
  
"I just got off the phone with your dad. . . he said you never made it out to Connecticut."  
  
"I just didn't want to visit him and Mrs. Barbie, that's all."  
  
Mrs. Roth shook her head from side to side. Her short dark brown hair fell into her face. She looked at her daughter and registered the image. Caitie's petite frame was clothed with a gray fleece dress that came down to her knees. She paired off the outfit with a pair of black tights and a long black sweater. A shade of purple coated her eyes and lips, making her eyes shine more than usual. Her shiny dark brown hair was pulled back into a loose bun usually sported by ballerinas.  
  
Mrs. Roth thought of the days when Caitie took ballet lessons with Valerie at the local dance studio. She also remembered escorting the girls to voice lessons and art school. Caitie looked so much like Mrs. Roth in her youth. They share many of the same characteristics as well.  
  
"Caitie, don't talk about your step mom like that."  
  
Caitie took her mother by the hand and led her toward the living room couch. They both sat down on the comfortable black leather sofa.  
  
"Mom," Caitie began, "Never call that lady my 'mother' again. I have you. You are my mother. Dad? He left us mom."  
  
Mrs. Roth peered into Caitie's intense eyes. It hurt to see her daughter's harden heart, walling herself up to protect herself from her own father.  
  
"Caitie, so what did you do when I was out of town for my business trip this weekend?" Mrs. Roth asked, defeated in convincing her daughter to let things go.  
  
"I just stayed here and invited Val and Jamie over to watch some movies. Jamie crashed on the couch," Caitie replied.  
  
Mrs. Roth put her arm around her daughter. Caitie leaned her head against her shoulder.  
  
"I'm going to order some Chinese food. Want the usual?"  
  
Caitie grinned. "Sure mom."  
  
* * * * * * * * * * Present * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Caitie stiffened her body as Jamie draped his arm around her.  
  
"Hey. . . it'll be okay Caitie, we'll get through this. . . " Jamie offered comfortingly, failing to even believe himself. "We'll be okay," he added.  
  
A/N: I haven't written anything new for a while. . . I'm a bit rusty! Please review, to let me know what you think! 


	2. ch 2

A/N: another chapter. Disclaimer: I own nothing. Please read and review!  
  
The sound of the last school bell filled the air. It was the sound that spread feelings of relief through the students.  
  
"Ninth period is over," Caitie stated observantly. Jamie nodded. "You should head over to the station," Caitie suggested as she arose from the ground. "You don't want Alex on your back."  
  
Jamie followed her actions by stepping in stride with the petite brunette figure. "Don't worry about it, I rather stick around you than do pointless paperwork," he replied.  
  
A thought entered Jamie's mind. "Hey, come with me then. Val has been dying to see you."  
  
Caitie ceased her rapid steps momentarily. Dying. "Many people die don't they James?" she asked as her hazel eyes pierced into his deep brown eyes. Jamie kicked himself silently for his poor choice of words.  
  
"Please come with me . . ." he began pleading. He slipped his hand into hers, as she quickly jerked away. Caitie began walking towards the station. Jamie followed.  
  
*  
  
Val stared blankly at her pile of paperwork at the common room table. She couldn't believe what had happened. As she twirled her wood pencil between her slender fingers, Jamie and Caitie entered the room. Val immediately ran over to her best friend.  
  
"Caitie!" she called as she gave her best friend a warm hug. Sadly, the hug was not returned. Caitie stood still as the tall blonde hugged her tightly. "How are you holding up?" she asked.  
  
"I'm fine." As the embrace ended, Caitie waked over to the couch. She took out a pair of headphones and closed her eyes. Sending out clear messages that she wanted to be alone, Val remained at a distance. She returned to the table, joining Jamie.  
  
"Has she been like this all day?" she asked quietly. Jamie opened the bottle of lemon-iced tea. He sullenly nodded.  
  
"I can't believe . . . this happened."  
  
Jamie placed his bottle down on the table and stretched his arms in the air. Jamie's arms fell to his side as he let out a sigh of hopelessness. He looked over at his coworker, saddened further by the concern in her eyes.  
  
"How are you holding up?" he asked as he realized the effects of what had occurred did not only affect Caitie.  
  
Val tapped her pencil against the table. "It's hard. I've known Mrs. Roth for so many years. She was a second mother to me." She looked up at Jamie. "I don't know how Caitie even manages to wake up every morning."  
  
Jamie could relate. He had lost his father several years ago after a long battle with cancer.  
  
"I almost lost my father a year ago . . . I don't know what I would have done . . . if he . . ." tears started to swell in her eyes. "Hey, it's all right." Jamie smiled sympathetically at Val.  
  
Jamie looked over at the couch. He noticed that Caitie had fallen asleep. Val took notice of her friend resting as well.  
  
"She must be tired . . ." she commented.  
  
"The wake and funeral really drained her. She planned the entire thing . . . refusing to let her father take the burden off her hands."  
  
Val recalled attending Mrs. Roth's funeral only days before. Since then, Caitie was an empty vessel, managing to walk from place to place and hold various conversations. The repetition of it all, reassuring she was perfectly fine . . . it broke Val's heart.  
  
Jamie walked over to where Caitie rested. He draped a flannel blanket over her body.  
  
* * * * Six Days Earlier* * * *  
  
"Mom, which videos do you want me to rent?" Caitie asked as searched for her keys in the kitchen.  
  
"Anything but a foreign film," Mrs. Roth teased playfully. "How about we do a sappy romance night?" she asked her daughter.  
  
Caitie rolled her eyes, "Mom . . . I don't want to spend the night crying over fried green tomatoes!"  
  
"Okay, okay. Why don't you chose. Browse though some new releases."  
  
"Sure, I'll be back in an hour," Caitie stated over her shoulder as she shut the door behind her.  
  
Little did she know, this was the last time she would see her mother.  
  
Caitie returned from the video store with several DVDs in hand. When she entered the kitchen, she noticed a note on the refrigerator.  
  
I ran to pick up some popcorn and pizza.  
  
I'll be back very soon.  
  
Love you,  
  
Mom.  
  
Caitie smiled to herself and plopped down on the couch and turned on the television. After waiting patiently for what seemed like an eternity, she checked the clock. Two hours had passed. Caitie grabbed the cordless phone and punched in her mother's cell phone number. It was turned off.  
  
As she returned the phone to the cradle, the doorbell rang.  
  
"Are you the daughter of Mrs. Roth?" asked a tall dark hair man. He was dressed in a police uniform.  
  
"Yes . . . is she okay?" Caitie asked concerned. A sinking feeling overwhelmed her body.  
  
"She's at the hospital right now . . . there has been an accident," the officer stated apologetically. "I can take you now."  
  
Caitie mindlessly closed the door and entered the police vehicle. 


	3. ch 3

Jamie idly stared at his French book. Val sat close by and kept herself busy by finishing her Spanish homework. The station house was very quiet besides the quiet rustling of pages, as the EMTs studied.  
  
Caitie tossed and turned. Her brown hair fell over her face as she turned her hair back and forth.  
  
"NO. . .no. . .no. . .." she started to scream.  
  
Jamie rushed over to Caitie, with Val close behind.  
  
"Caitie," he called as he gently nudged her.  
  
She suddenly awoke breathing heavily. Caitie sat up, for a moment forgetting where she was.  
  
"Are you okay?" Jamie asked as he tucked her hair behind her ear. Caitie flinched at his touch. He instinctually moved his hand away from her.  
  
"I'll go fix you some tea," Val offered warmly.  
  
Caitie nodded. She watched her best friend walk into the kitchen.  
  
"Are you having those dreams again?" he asked softly.  
  
Caitie got up from the couch. Without saying a word, she ran out of the station.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Between classes, Val spotted Jamie in the hallway.  
  
"Jamie, Jamie!" Val yelled out over the loud noise emitted by students scrambling to class.  
  
Jamie turned towards Val's direction and walked over to the side, allowing the other students to pass.  
  
"Did you speak with Caitie since yesterday?" Val asked curiously.  
  
He shook his head. "I tried calling and only got the machine. I figure she wanted a little time alone so I gave it a rest."  
  
Val nodded in agreement. "She gets like this. Remember when her dad left her mom? She was very . . . distant. When he got remarried, she was angry and allowed herself to vent. When she's truly shaken, it's like . . . Caitie isn't Caitie anymore."  
  
"Hey, I'll catch you later at the station," Jamie stated as he headed towards his next class. On his way, he ran into Kenny and Brianne.  
  
"Waite, I heard about Caitie's mom. She okay?" Kenny asked.  
  
"As okay as she can be I guess," Jamie replied, not entirely sure if he was telling the truth.  
  
Brianne expressed concern. "If you see her, tell her I'm around, all right?"  
  
Jamie agreed as he left his old friends.  
  
*  
  
Around noon, Caitie managed to get dressed and drive over to school. She entered the building and walked over to her locker. Without registering all the commotion around her, she merely turned the dial on her lock.  
  
Tyler, standing nearby noticed the familiar dark haired girl.  
  
"Caitie," Tyler called. He managed to walk over to her side with ease.  
  
Tyler found himself peering into empty hazel eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry," Tyler began, not knowing what else to say.  
  
"For what?" she inquired half-heartedly, not truly wanting to continue this conversation. She was sick and tired of constant apologizing, sympathizing, patronizing . . .  
  
"For your-------"  
  
"My . . . 'loss'?" Caitie interrupted. "For the fact that my mother is dead?" Caitie slammed her locker. She turned to look at the tall blonde boy straight in his eyes. After spending so much time at the station the past year, they have actually developed a friendship.  
  
"Tyler, people die. It's life."  
  
As Tyler tried to formulate a response, Kenny and Brianne joined the conversation.  
  
"Hey Roth," Kenny greeted. "Listen, I'm sorry about your mom and all."  
  
"That really sucks," Brianne added.  
  
"You don't have to be 'sorry'," Caitie muttered. "I'm sick of this . . . " Caitie stated under her breath.  
  
"Why don't we go somewhere," Kenny offered. "My brother is bartending at the bar on Oak Street."  
  
"Yeah, it'll be fun," Brianne suggested.  
  
Tyler didn't feel comfortable with the method Caitie's friends were offering comfort. To him, it seemed more like escape.  
  
"Caitie doesn't drink . . . you should know that," Tyler stated coldly as he recalled the many lectures Jamie had received from Caitie.  
  
"You know what, why not. I'm getting sick of the word 'should". Things do not always turn out, the way it should be."  
  
With that final statement, the three bleacher junkies went off and left the school through the main gates.  
  
*  
  
Tyler walked into his English class. He took a seat behind Hank and next to Val. He stared straight into empty space.  
  
"Tyler," Val whispered. He turned towards the voice. Tyler smiled at the sight of his girlfriend.  
  
"I ran into Caitie," Tyler began. "She's hanging out with Kenny and Brianne."  
  
Val nodded. "Maybe that's a good thing. . ." she began to reason.  
  
"Not when they went to a bar." Tyler refocuses his attention to the front of the class.  
  
*  
  
Caitie sat in the dark bar room. The fact that it was still early in the afternoon did not make much of a difference on the lighting. There was no one in the bar except a man in this thirties sitting at the bar watching a game on the small TV.  
  
Caitie, Brianne and Kenny sat at a table in the middle of the bar. Kenny ordered a pitcher of beer for the three of them although only two were drinking.  
  
"Drink up Roth," Kenny offered for the billionth time. "Do you want shots instead?"  
  
Caitie picked her untouched glass of beer. Initially she took a small sip. "It tastes pretty bad," she commented.  
  
"It's an acquired taste. . .it's like caviar," Brianne stated half laughing.  
  
"Maybe this will take your mind off your mom," Kenny stated firmly. Brianne kicked him under the table for his lack of sensitivity.  
  
"Sorry," Brianne looked apologetically.  
  
Kenny was never that sensitive of a person but perhaps his compromised blood alcohol level made his mouth run off.  
  
Caitie's mind flashed back.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"This way," the officer directed as he escorted the young woman to see her mother. She was in a room in the ER. As Caitie walked closer and closer to her mother, she could see that her room was filled with doctors. The sight that registered in Caitie's mind was even worse than she expected.  
  
There was so much blood.  
  
So much blood.  
  
On her mother, on the doctors.  
  
A dark haired man tried to make her heart beat again. Trying. In vain.  
  
The first thing Caitie heard as she ran into the room resonated in her mind.  
  
"Time of death, 11:07p.m."  
  
Caitie turned pale.  
  
The blood.  
  
So much blood.  
  
Her mother's blood. . .  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Are you okay?" Brianne asked concerned. "You dazed off for a moment."  
  
Caitie shook her head, as if that would bring her back to reality. "I'm fine. Let's do shots."  
  
Kenny grinned. "All right, now you're talking!"  
  
A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed! I MISSED YOU GUYS!!! 


	4. ch 4

Disclaimer: I still own nothing.  
  
* * *  
  
"You have to take another shot!" Brianne stated as she giggled. A very inebriated Caitie swallowed another shot of tequila. After ingesting seven previous shots, the liquor no longer burned.  
  
"My turn. Kenny. You." Caitie tried hard to focus her vision as she slurred her words. "Why are you and Jamie so distant after he joined the squad?"  
  
Kenny thought for a moment. "He punked out."  
  
"Tell the truth!" Brianne pushed. "You are just pissed off that Jamie and Caitie are getting their act together and you're not."  
  
"True?" Caitie inquired.  
  
"Forget it. I plead the 5th. I rather take the shot."  
  
Before Caitie and Brianne could press him for a clarification, Kenny downed yet another shot of tequila.  
  
"Answer . . ." Caitie began speaking before Kenny cut her off. "I took the shot. Brianne is next."  
  
Kenny thought long and hard. "Do you have a thing for anyone?"  
  
Caitie slightly giggled. She knew that Brianne had a huge crush on Kenny.  
  
Brianne's hand reached for her shot glass.  
  
This game was only self-destructive.  
  
Alcohol.  
  
People who will not admit the truth.  
  
It was insanity.  
  
* * * * *  
  
After a few hours of drinking, the trio left the bar. Dale, Kenny's brother---now being off duty----opted to drive the three to their respective homes.  
  
"She had way too much to drink," Dale stated as he carried Caitie inside her house.  
  
A barely conscious brunette was gently let down on her living room couch. Kenny and Brianne, very much intoxicated, remained in the car.  
  
Dale looked around the house for a moment. He spotted a cordless phone and quickly went to retrieve it. He placed the phone by Caitie's side.  
  
He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. He also brought the trashcan in the living room by the couch where Caitie rested.  
  
Dale stood in the living room, resting his hands on top of his head pressing down his tousled hair. "Advil," he thought aloud to himself.  
  
He headed towards the bathroom medicine cabinet, guessing it would be the best place to retrieve pain relievers. With the small bottle in his hand, he grabbed a blanket from Caitie's bedroom. Before leaving, Dale couldn't help but look around the room.  
  
Pictures covered Caitie's room. He spotted one of Caitie, Brianne and Kenny. It was taken a while ago.  
  
Another picture caught his eye. It was of Jamie and Caitie. Dale thought they looked good together.  
  
Dale headed towards the living room. He made sure Caitie was on her side and draped the blanket over her. He placed the water and the Advil on the coffee table.  
  
Before he could leave, Dale felt a pang of sympathy. "It's not easy losing your mom, is it?" he whispered. He allowed his hand to stroke her hair. "Hang in there."  
  
Leaving Caitie's house, Dale returned to his car.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Hank and Val sat in the common room of the station. Jamie was relatively quiet, hiding himself in the station's garage.  
  
Val occupied herself by reading the paper. Hank stared at the large clock that hung on the far wall of the room.  
  
"Seven minutes!" he exclaimed. He eagerly awaited the end of his shift so he can rush home.  
  
"Big plans this weekend?" she asked without looking up from her paper.  
  
"Jasmine and I are going to celebrate our one year anniversary!"  
  
This caught Val's attention. "What do you have planned?"  
  
"It's perfect! I'm going to take her favorite restaurant!" He pulled a little velvet box from his jacket pocket. He opened it, revealing a small silver ring. "And . . . I'm going to give her this."  
  
"A promise ring!" Val stated excitedly! "Oh Hank! She's going to love it!"  
  
A smiled played on Val's lips as she ran her finger on the design of the ring. Hank couldn't help but smiling at her excitement. He only imagined how Jasmine would react, if Val was so ecstatic.  
  
"You know, that's probably the first time I saw you smile since . . ." Hank allowed himself to trail off. "Since . . . what happened to Caitie's mom."  
  
Val's smile slightly faded. "It's tough. I feel horrible. I can't even imagine how Caitie feels . . . I wonder . . . I was spared my father. She was denied. I just wonder, why things happen like this."  
  
Hank remained silent. He did not know what to say. "You would think, being EMTs like we are, things like this would . . . shake us up less. You know what I'm saying? We are well aware of the accidents that happen, the tragedies . . . but if anything, it makes it harder to bear."  
  
Hank reached for Val's hand. He looked her straight into her eyes. "Val, the fact that you're not desensitized to what's happening . . . really says something about you. Don't ever stop feeling. You are strong and you have to be strong for Caitie."  
  
Val smiled warmly at Hank.  
  
"That's two today! I'm on a roll!" he stated teasingly.  
  
Val looked at the clock. "Hank, it's time to go!"  
  
Hank gathered his things, preparing to leave the station.  
  
"Hank?" Val called out before he left.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Hank smiled as he nodded his head. "Anytime."  
  
* * * * *  
  
A/N: Please read and review! Thank you guys for your comments!!! 


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